Guede Hits Gamewinner, NCAA D1 Season Tips Off

The NCAA Division 1 season tipped off last night, and with 40 Brits on D1 rosters this year there was bound to be a lot of action, none bigger than Paul Guede who gunned a deep three with 5 seconds remaining to give Portland State an 83-81 over Pepperdine. Guede played 13 minutes, finishing with 10 points on 3/5 shooting (2/3 threes) and 2/2 at the line, adding 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals.

Jamie Vanderbeken was the other star performer as he scored a career high 23 points to give his Iowa State 78-64 win over Northern Arizona. He added 8 rebounds, 1 steal and three blocks. He shot 8/16 from the floor, including a sizzling 6/11 from three point range on his career night.

Elsewhere, St Bonaventures were defeated 80-70 to Canisius in their season opener. GB Senior Men’s starting point Ogo Adegboye played 36 minutes before fouling out, finishing with 7 points (2/9 from the floor, 2/4 ft’s), 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 turnovers.

Fellow GB player Justin Robinson also suffered a loss in his opener with Rider University after letting a 21 point lead slip, losing 77-67 to Massachusetts. Robinson started at guard and played all but two minutes of the game, finishing with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 5 turnovers. He shot 4/11 from the floor and went 2/2 at the line.

Robinson’s British teammate, freshman Tom Pereira saw 9 minutes of game time, shooting three threes’ and making 1 of them for 3 points whilst grabbing 1 rebound.

GB U23 Ashley Hamilton played 22 minutes in the starting forward spot with LMU, but couldn’t prevent them losing 81-79 to Morgan State. Hamilton finished with 6 points (on 3/5 shooting), 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.

St Francis lost to Boston College 79-49. Richard Clark made the most of his 5 minutes, jacking up three triples and making two of them to finish with 6 points and a block.

Alasadair Fraser, who put in work with the Scotland U18 side this summer, started in the first game of his collegiate career with the University of Maine.They opened with a win; 71-66 OT win over Utah Valley. Fraser played 32 minutes before fouling out, going 2/5 from the floor for 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block, and 3 turnovers.

GB U20 teammates Andrew Lawrence and Alex Marcotullio were both solid in their season debuts. Lawrence and his College of Charleston lost on a jumper with 3 seconds remaining to Maryland 75-74. Andrew played 16 minutes off the bench, going 3/8 from the floor (2/2 at the line) for 9 points, adding 2 rebounds, and 3 steals.

Marcotullio’s Northestern won 97-78 over Northern Illinois.  Marcotullio started at guard, finishing with 3 points on 1/5 shooting from the floor (all three point attempts), adding 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 24 minutes.

Loyola Maryland lost 75-72 to Drexel. Shane Walker played 22 minutes in the starting role before fouling out, finishing with 5 points (2/5 field goals, 1/2 at the line), 4 rebounds, 3 blocks.

In the Nation’s first Division I game of the season, Rhode Island gave Pittsbugh a scare before losing 83-75. Ben Eaves played 19 minutes going scoreless on 0/3 shooting whilst adding 5 rebounds and an assist.

Stony Brook lost to Connecticut 79-52. Danny Carter played 25 minutes, going 0/4 from the field to finish scoreless, but did add 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

It was a tough night for The Citadel as they got destroyed 79-37 by Richmond. Mike Williams, who transferred from Duquesne, started at centre in the heavy loss finishing with 2 points (1/6 shooting), 6 rebounds and 1 steal in 23 minutes.

Freshman Levi Noel suffered a loss in his first game with Eastern Illinois, going down 67-55 to South Dakota State. Noel played 12 minutes, grabbing 1 rebounds and turning the ball over once without a shot attempt.

Wagner Seahawks won 63-58 over Lafayette. Clayfell Harris only played 3 minutes, but will have savoured them after having to medical redshirt last season due to a foot injury. He went 0-1 from the floor to go scoreless whilst grabbing 2 rebounds.

Freshman Abdul Ahmed saw 2 minutes in his first college game, dishing one assist as his Oklahoma Sooners won 77-57 over Coppin State.

It was bad news for Fahro Alihodzic (Fordham 65 Brown 69), Daniel Awosanya (Campbell 60 Virginia Tech 70), Ryan Kilmartin (Appalachian State 89 Tulsa 86), Myles Luttman (SMU 47 Arkansas Little Rock 57) and Mikey Manghum (Oral Roberts 61 Missouri 78) all of who did not get off the bench on opening night.